A White House social aide is a

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officer assigned to attend to the personal needs of visiting dignitaries at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

and to facilitate interactions with the

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

and the First Lady of the United States. White House social aides were first appointed in 1902; as of 2014, there were 45 such officers.

History

The first White House social aides were appointed in 1902 during the

presidency of Theodore Roosevelt The presidency of Theodore Roosevelt started on September 14, 1901, when Theodore Roosevelt became the 26th president of the United States upon the assassination of President William McKinley, and ended on March 4, 1909. Roosevelt had been th ...

. Until 1969 only men were permitted to serve as social aides; in that year,

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

approved the appointment of female social aides. As of 2014, there were 45 social aides. Social aides have been drawn from the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

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, and the

National Guard of the United States The National Guard is a state-based military force that becomes part of the reserve components of the United States Army and the United States Air Force when activated for federal missions.

Duties

White House social aides report to a coordinator in the office of the White House Social Secretary. Their duties include managing "guests who attend social functions at the White House, acilitatinginteractions with the president and first lady and scortingdignitaries". In the past, this has included entertaining single guests, such as providing dance companions; initiating small talk with lonely guests during teas; directing the flow of traffic at receiving lines; and greeting visitors. When visitors are received by the President of the United States, three social aides are assigned to coordinate the interaction: the "whispering aide" who whispers the visitor's name to the president, the "introducing aide" who presents the visitor to the president, and the "pulling off aide" who encourages the visitor to step away once the president signals the interaction has concluded. Social aides are also expected to identify and resolve social miscues; during one visit by

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to the White House during the

presidency of Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following a landslide victory over ...

, a reporter attempted to cut in on the king to ask him questions during social dancing. According to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', a social aide "came to the rescue by cutting in and deftly waltzing the young woman off the dance floor".

Selection

White House social aides must be commissioned officers with a rank no higher than major (or lieutenant commander in the Navy or Coast Guard), be assigned to

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, and have "impeccable appearance". According to a statement provided to ''The New York Times'', the past restriction on married social aides was due to the significant evening demands placed on aides that might interfere with their marital relationship. However, Stephen Bauer – who served as a social aide – has written that the prohibition on wedded aides is to prevent a scandal developing in the event a social aide is invited into a romantic relationship with a guest. This is no longer a requirement as of early 2021. Because social aides have direct access to the President of the United States, prospective aides must successfully pass a

Yankee White Yankee White is an administrative nickname for a background check undertaken in the United States of America for Department of Defense personnel and contractor employees working with the president and vice president. ...

review demonstrating their "unquestionable loyalty to the United States".

Notable social aides

* As daughter of President of the United States Lyndon Johnson,

Lynda Bird Johnson Lynda Bird Johnson Robb (born March 19, 1944) is the elder daughter of the 36th U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson and former First Lady Lady Bird Johnson. She served as chairwoman of the Board of Reading is Fundamental, the nation's largest chil ...

was given "pick of the litter" of White House social aides and ultimately selected Marine Captain Charles Robb as her personal escort. She later wed Robb in 1967 in a White House ceremony; Robb would ultimately become the 64th

Governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the head of government of Virginia for a four-year term. The incumbent, Glenn Youngkin, was sworn in on January 15, 2022. Oath of office On inauguration day, the Governor-elect takes th ...

. * Gerald F. "Gerry" Richman, a corporate lawyer and formerly president of Richman-Greer, a South Florida law firm, was a White House social aide during the Johnson administration. Richman is rumored to have had the opportunity to escort Lynda Bird Johnson, but passed on it to Robb because Richman already had a conflicting date with a

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...

contestant. *

Brian Lamb Brian Patrick Lamb (; born October 9, 1941) is an American journalist. He is the founder, executive chairman, and the now-retired CEO of C-SPAN, an American cable network that provides coverage of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Sen ...

, later

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

of C-SPAN, was a White House social aide during the Johnson administration; among his duties were escorting

Lady Bird Johnson Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson (''née'' Taylor; December 22, 1912 – July 11, 2007) was First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 as the wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson. She previously served as Second Lady from 1961 to 1963 whe ...

during the wedding of Lynda Bird Johnson and Robb. * Abelardo L. Valdez, assistant administrator of the

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, served as a social aide during the presidency of Lyndon Johnson. * Major General Marcelite J. Harris was a White House social aide during the presidency of Jimmy Carter. * Vice Admiral Jody A. Breckenridge was a White House social aide. * In 2015, Captain John Fesler became the first social aide appointed from the Air National Guard. * Stephen Kappes as a Marine Officer served as a social aide to President Carter and later became the Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency

The Society of White House Military Aides

The Society of White House Military Aides grew from an idea of camaraderie and friendship shared through their unique experiences while serving their nation’s presidents. It is their purpose to continue to renew those friendships through the society and preserve the history and honor of their service. Their members represent military aides from twelve administrations, comprising both current and past White House social and presidential aides from the Roosevelt Administration to that of George W. Bush, and five branches of the service: the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and the Coast Guard. Honorary members include social secretaries to the President and those members of the White House Military Office who worked directly with military aides. Since its founding in 1991 by Chairman Kenn Riordan, Jr. (Reagan), the society has grown from fifty aides to over 600 aides and has been incorporated with legal counsel. The two most senior members served as aides to President Roosevelt; another, White House Curator, Mr. Rex Scouten, served ten presidents. Included in their ranks are two presidents of the American Red Cross; members of the Council of Foreign Relations; a Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; a CINCPAC; two women who retired as the highest ranking in their services; a U.S. Senator; the founder of C-SPAN; a founding partner of the Carlyle Group; three university presidents; and a CEO of PepsiCo. All were White House social or presidential aides, and members.The Society of White House Military Aides
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Gallery

File:Melania Trump escorted by a U.S. Marine, Jan. 20, 2017.jpg,

Melania Trump Melania Trump ( ; born Melanija Knavs , Germanized as Melania Knauss ; born April 26, 1970) is a Slovene-American former model and businesswoman who served as First Lady of the United States from 2017 to 2021 as the wife of 45th president Do ...

is escorted by a White House social aide at the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill ...

in 2017 File:Celebrating American Heroes Week at the White House.png, Two White House social aides attend President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

as he awards the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor in 2017 File:White House Social Aides - 14788457862.jpg, White House social aides pictured during the presidency of John Kennedy in the

Diplomatic Reception Room The Diplomatic Reception Room is one of three oval rooms in the Executive Residence of the White House, the official home of the president of the United States. It is located on the ground floor and is used as an entrance from the South Lawn, ...

File:White_House_social_aide.png, A White House social aide leads Led Zeppelin's

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...

to the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony in 2012 File:Johnson Aides.jpg, Johnson Military Aides with Social Secretary Bess Abell (L-R) Dr. Alan Merten (George Mason Univ.), Governor (and Senator) Chuck Robb, Bess Abell, Edward J. Mathias (Carlyle Group), Brian Lamb ( C-SPAN) File:SWHMA Advisors.jpg, Board of Advisors, Society of White House Military Aides, overlooking the White House and Washington Monument

References

{{White House Office White House Military Office White House staff